Bearded Iris Test Garden. 5.19.19

 I'm pretty happy with how the irises have done this year.  Some are not done yet, but I can see the results.  Only two of the old, rescued clumps were not up to producing at least one flower.  Of the new cultivars, bought by mail order, only one ("Cheetah Cheese") produced flower at all.  I had 2 rhizomes of that variety, and unfortunately the one of those that did bloom was something else entirely.  I also had a new one, "Blatant", that I had bought locally and which was small, dried out, dead looking rhizomes, that I think I planted in October.  I didn't have a big expectation that they would survive, let alone bloom.  They did survive, are growing vigorously, so might bloom next year.   I expect that next year, these new ones may have more flowers, and the stems may be taller because the plants will be more established.

Next I will want to cull a few that are really not worth the space and effort.  In addition, I want to re-combine a few cultivars that are separated into more than one bunch, which will free up some spaces and look better.

I think I want the smaller cultivars together at one end of the bed.  I also want the re-bloomers together, because they benefit from extra care during the summer while others will be dormant.

The main thing now is I get to enjoy these beautiful flowers, and the bonus is most bloomed this year, a year sooner than I expected.

A Few More Irises In Bloom. 5.18.19

Padded Shoulders.  5.18.19

Pink Attraction.  5.18.19

Owyhee Desert.  5.18.19

A few more bearded iris varieties have bloomed in the test garden. "Padded Shoulders" is a newer modern type, very attractive.  Looking at photos of this cultivar, I had some buyers' remorse because I didn't think it would look that good.  Now that I've seen it in my garden, I like it much more.  The coloration and pattern are unusual, and it's a very nice flower.

I added another photo of "Owyhee Desert".  It's a smaller variety, should be at the front of a border.  Even though it's small, this coloration and pattern make it among the nicest.

"Pink Attraction" doesn't look like much.  Holding judgement.

"Immortality" was in my old yard, survived moving here, but suffered when I had a leaf spot epidemic.  I moved it to the woodlot edge and forgot it.  After moving it back to the test garden, it's doing very well. This is just the first bud, of many, to open.  "Immortality" was registered in 1982, developed by Zurbrigg, so at more than 30 years old counts as a "historic iris".  It has the late 20th century flower shape, and is considered a good re-bloomer.  The stems are not as tall as some modern cultivars, but that might be an advantage in a climate like this one where rains can tip over the heavy flowers.  That happened in my garden with the cultivar "Red Dirt Road".

Of these, all but "Immortality" were from Schreiner's Irises.  I've had "Immortality" for so long, I forgot where it came from.

Immortality.  5.18.19 

Cowlitz Peach. 5.17.19

"Cowlitz" Peach.  5.17.19

 "Cowlitz" is the designation I gave to a seedling of "Oregon Curl Free" peach, which I grew as an own-root tree.  It is located in the chicken yard in a non-ideal situation, with a shade tree directly south.  Despite that, it has grown nicely and, in its fourth year from seed, has about 30 peaches forming on its branches.  I thinned out doublets and any that looked too close together, otherwise there would be more.  Some branches did not set fruit.

So far, so good.  After an unseasonably hot week, in May, with temp almost 90F, we had chill and rains with temps down into the 50s.

This tree is not 100% free of peach leaf curl, but has less than any other peach I have ever grown - just a few scattered spots.  Whether that continues will be an observation in progress.

Still, I have optimism that this tree will do well.  Since peach seedlings are often similar to their parent trees, these may be similar to Oregon Curl Free.  I don't know if the Curl resistance is a multiple gene trait, or a single gene, and if it is likely to be heterozygous or homozygous.  There are lots of possibilities. 

"Cowlitz" Peach.  5.17.19

If these peaches are decent eating, my thought will be to germinate some of the seeds either to grow another generation or as rootstock for grafts of Cowlitz.

I've also read about growing peaches from air layers from the parent tree.  I should look into that to see if I can make some own-root progeny.

Iris of the Day. Los Coyotes. 5.17.19

Modern Bearded Iris "Los Coyotes".  5.17.19

 The irises pictured today have some similarities in their color distribution, although nuances of the colors vary.  In addition, the shapes and sizes vary.

I bought "Los Coyotes" about 5 years ago.  This iris is among the rescues that I collected from around the yard last summer, and this is the first time that it has bloomed so nicely.  No scent that I can appreciate.  The flowers are lush, large, and have that classic yellow standards, brushed brown falls that is notable for "Honorabile" as well.  In fact, "Los Coyotes" looks like a tetraploid, more ruffled and larger descendant of "Honorabile"

Speaking of which, "Honorabile" is blooming too.  Much smaller, this iris falls into the category of "miniature tall bearded".  Honorabile was developed by Lémon in 1840, although there is debate about whether the current version is really Honorabile or is a different variety called "Sans Souci".

On to "Accent", this iris is larger then "Honorabile", but the flowers are smaller and not as ruffled, but taller stems, than "Los Coyotes".   "Accent" was developed in 1952.  The falls are more of a burgundy color, compared to "Honorabile" or "Los Coyotes" and the shape is that of a mid century tall bearded iris. 

Historic Bearded Iris "Honorabile".  5.17.19

 Finally, there is "Shah Jehan".  This iris has a similar effect, although compared to the others in today's selection, the falls have a more purple coloration.  The plant is taller, with a taller flower stem, compared to the others.  "Shah Jehan" is significantly older, having been developed by W. Neel in Vanouver, Canada, in 1932.  "Shah Jehan" was named for the Mogul emperor who commissioned the Taj Mahal, and had more than 900 gardens build in Kashmir, according to the link.   This iris does have an elegant look, and might be nice in a larger clump.  With only one flower stem, so tall and ungainly looking, it would not be my first choice in a flower bed.

All of these are nice in a collection.  If I had more limited space and had to narrow down to two of this classic, golden standard / brown or purplish-brown or maroon-brown fall type, I'd go with Los Coyotes for the bigger, brighter, larger and more ruffled look, or Honorabile for the small but very nice, and obviously very historic feel.

Historic Tall Bearded Iris "Accent".  5.17/19

Historic Tall Bearded Iris "Shah Jehan".  5.17.19

Neighborhood Bearded Irises, All Mulched. 5.17.19

 My helper, Rufus, took me around the neighborhood to look at bearded irises and check on my observation that mulched irises are healthier than unmulched irises, contrary to virtually every bit of advice in books and websites.

In this area, the main mulch used is shredded fir bark.  I think that's what I see nine times out of ten.

Around the neighborhood, there are many patches of irises, some apparently many years old and not maintained other than by mulching.  Of the ones that I saw, only the one that shares a photo with Rufus is un-mulched, and I'm not sure about that one due to the thick plantings of poppies and other flowers

 So in the end, the only irises that I've seen with disease - black spot - have been the bare-soil ones in my own yard.  And those are just about the only ones that are not mulched.

This summer after I divide and clean up the irises in my own yard, I'll put down a layer of shredded fir bark.  It certainly doesn't seem to hurt, and appears to help prevent leaf spot and other diseases.

I don't know why so many references state that irises should not be mulched.  Maybe that's the midwest, or other wet summer climates?

There are certainly some beautiful iris gardens around the neighborhood, too.  I have not ID'ed any of them, but they are very nice.